Fiddling while Rome burns

It’s said that in 64 AD, Roman emperor Nero fiddled (I assume meaning the musical instrument) while his city burned. While this may or may not have actually happened, the fiddling that is, it’s become a widely used expression for situations where nothing happens in response to a crisis. There’s a similar situation evolving in the repair aftermarket today, namely the “right to repair” issue. For those who haven’t run up against this problem, and there can’t be many, it’s the practice of automotive manufacturers blocking access to critical repair information, leaving independents unable to perform some services. With software taking control of an increasing proportion of new vehicle systems, the ability of Canadian general repair businesses to take care of modern vehicles is definitely threatened. Why are OEM’s doing this? To protect the interests of their dealers, who derive a significant proportion of their profits from after sales service. Is it fair? “No” if you’re an independent, “Yes” if you’re a manufacturer or dealer. The problem with this issue is that we’re obsessed with the concept of “fairness”. We need to forget about the justice of this situation and focus on the facts. Fact number one is that information lockout threatens the independent garage. Fact number two is that it also restricts the ability of consumers to choose who repairs their vehicles. Fact number three is that OEM’s have a right to see a return on their software development costs. And an unfortunate fact number four is that there is no national representative body at the moment to represent the interests of independents in Ottawa. There is some movement towards a truly national association, with the Alberta-based Canadian Independent Automotive Association, (www.ciaassociation.org) but building something national, or even assembling a coalition of regional associations takes time, and time is something the industry just doesn’t have. What about the Automotive Industries Association? They’re on this issue too, since it affects parts suppliers as much as garages, but the AIA isn’t a service provider association. Until there is a national voice, or a coalition of regional associations, independents will have to react independently. That’s not difficult to do, if you know where to complain. Start with a quick letter, E-mail or fax to the federal Competiton Bureau. The staff in their Information Centre are the first contact. Their role is to answer questions, record complaints and direct calls.

Monday – Friday 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time

50 Victoria Street, Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0C9

E-Mail: compbureau@cb-bc.gc.ca

Toll free: 1-800-348-5358 Phone: (819) 997-4282

TDD (hearing impaired): 1-800-642-3844

Fax: (819) 997-0324

Or send them me at SSGM and I’ll collect them and give the Feds a wake up call too. Will they listen? I knew someone who worked in the Prime Minister’s Office in the ’80’s and he once told me that they regarded each letter of complaint as representing about 1000 voters. If we talk, they’ll listen, especially with a minority government. Do it soon.